The National Shortage Of Nurse Anesthetists - What Can Be Done?
THE DILEMMA
Healthcare in general continues to be
"short-handed" relative to the number patients they see each day. This is due to the aging
population and the inability of health care providers to meet the demands of
patients who need their services.
This is especially concerning for Nurse Anesthetists and those working in rural areas. AANA estimates that Nurse Office based anesthesia Anesthetists are responsible for 65% of rural hospitals' anesthesia services. It is estimated that Nurse Anesthetists account for 65% of all anesthesia services in rural hospitals across the United States.
This is due to the shortage of CRNA's and the aging
population.
EDUCATION
Education programs are not meeting the demand. We need more nurse
anesthesia programs accredited in the country. There aren’t enough student slots and it is difficult to
find faculty. We had 312 applicants for 85
slots in our August entering class," Kay Sanders, MHS and CRNA, director,
graduate program in nurse anesthesia at Texas Wesleyan University. This is the
largest program in nurse anesthesia in the United States.
AT A GLANCE
The following statistic is from RAND Corporation:
CRNA
Average age: 49
Average Experience: 17 Years
Urban Location: 44%
Average annual income: $151,380
Average Workweek: 37 hours
ACTION PLAN
Surveys show that there was a shortage in CRNA's within
about 60% of the US states. The Northeast has the greatest shortage of CRNA's, while the
West Coast actually had a surplus.
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